1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to holders and more particularly to holders for steel rule dies of varying widths.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Steel rule dies are widely used to cut a variety of materials such as cardboard and plastics into a desired shape. Often, the steel rule dies are pressure inserted into slots located in board of wood or other suitable material. During operation of the cutter, these dies often become loosened and ultimately disengaged, thereby necessitating costly and time consuming interruption of the cutting process as repairs are undertaken. In addition, the slots are of varying widths to accommodate dies of varying widths, thus making standardization difficult.
Several attempts have been made to prevent this loosening of the steel rule dies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,886 discloses a solid base material having caverns which are filled with semi-rigid filler material to anchor an inserted steel die. However, this method requires time-consuming filling and the ultimate strength of securing is dependant on the filler material selected. U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,038 discloses the use of S-wall shaped resilient members which pin the rule between itself and packing shims. This apparatus necessitates a difficult insertion of the rule between the resilient member and shims. A third proposal is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,746. A resilient support and spring are deformed upon insertion of the die and thereafter exert an upward force against the die to secure it in a slot. Such a deformation ultimately leads to mechanical failure of the retaining system as the dies are continuously displaced.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which securely retains steel rule dies in a retaining board.
It is a further object of the present invention to accomplish the foregoing object without difficult insertion of the steel rule die.
It is yet another object of the present invention to accomplish the preceding objects simply and economically.
It is a still further object of the present invention to achieve the foregoing objects with an apparatus which is durable and long lasting.
It is another object of the present invention to achieve the above objects for steel rule dies of varying widths.
Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the specification and drawings which follow.